The only advantage Derrick Williams had on Michael Beasley in college was 3pt% and that was barely. I honestly think Michael Beasley played against better competition as well.

Michael Beasleys first two years were marred in inconsistency, because he couldn't get continuous playing time, He had a new first time coach in Eric Spoelstra and a ball dominant top 3 player in the league in Dwayne Wade.

Once he got to the timberwolves before the injury he blossomed as a scorer averaging somewhere around 23 points a game and 7 rebounds, for a starting small forward those are great stats, he still ended the season averaging 19.2 and 5.6 rebounds, he also showed a tenacity playing defense the whole season and improved passing in the latter part of the season. He also has a great relationship with Kevin Love coming from their AAU and high school days. they're genuine friends and have a good relationship. They know how to play off of each other and they compliment each other well. Why break that up by bringing in a still unproven player?

Derrick Williams said it himself on ESPN the other day, people had him as a top 15 pick and then he had that great game against Duke. Well maybe this is just my opinion but Duke's front court wasn't very good. It's not like he was playing against Shaq and Stanley Roberts from 1990 LSU lol

Derrick Williams in my opinion will never be a perennial all star maybe he makes a couple but I see him being a Tim Thomas type of player potential, good role player, some great games but never lives up to being picked that high.

If the Twolves trade Michael Beasley it will just be the next mistake in a longline of mistakes...

My money is on Williams being the better pro. I don't like Beasley's shot selection or his defensive intensity. He's been in the league 3 years and still looks lost at times. Low basketball IQ. He scored well this past season because Minny had no other options... and its not like his shooting numbers were all that remarkable. Beasley has always reminded me of Drew Gooden. All the potential in the world but just never put it all together to be great. Beasley will never be a winner on a championship caliber team unless he's riding the pine. There's a reason Minny got him for a second round pick. It had been rumored for months and months that Miami wanted to trade him to clear his 2nd overall salary off the books and the only team who was interested in absorbing his contract was Minny... for a 2nd rounder no less.

This is what i've been saying for a while. People are sleeping on Beasley, and people who are Wolves fans or actually had the chace to see him play last year would know that BEasy is a specail talent, and a rare offensive talent that could be a top 5 scorer in the NBA someday...not to mention he was a very clutch player for the Wolves last year and carried the team in the 4th quarter, in the few games that they did win.

One of the best things that Kahn has done is getting BEasy for almost nothing. Can't knock him for that deal, that was a great trade for the Wolves and it now allows them leverage with this #2 pick. Beasley is the better SF and the better fit for the Wolves right now, not saying that Williams will have a bad career but keeping BEasy is the better option for the Wolves right now.

Before you neg me tell me if you actually watched a Timberwolves game last year.

After a lot of thought, I also agree, I'd rather roll with Beas than D-Will. Williams is more of a safe pick (probly the only time ever a college kid is called a 'safer pick' compared to a 20-pt NBA scorer), but Beas still has way more upside. Low bball IQ, shot selection, motivation, etc. are all relevant question marks surrounding B-Easy, and none of them seem to be trouble spots for Williams. And while I do think Williams will be a good player, Beasleys ceiling is still higher. Williams has that David West skillset, Beasley still has the Melo-like skillset. Now clearly he has ALOT of work to do to get to that level, but the talent is there. Just another classic ceiling-vs-floor argument

Beasley is EASILY more talented than Williams to me, but I don't know that Beasley could ever be a winning player as a top option. I have some questions about Williams as well, since he's not a very good defender and he's an average rebounder, but I do think Williams has a better chance of helping a team win than Beasley because he doesn't play as selfish and he's overall awareness and IQ aren't as low as Beasley's.

I think Derrick Williams has the positive attitude and willingness to learn, when Beasley does not. But I still do think Beasley is more talented. I think in their best seasons, these are the numbers they can put up.

The rebounds went to Love. Beasley reminds me of Glen Rice in the fact that he puts up numbers but doesn't know how to turn those numbers into wins. That being said I like Beasley, I watched at least 8-10 T'wolves games last year and he was clutch and was unstoppable when he wanted to be. The only thing that I see as a red flag is his work ethic. Beasley and Williams are always at LMU rec center and after speaking to the T'wolves strength and conditioing coach it seems like Beasley lacks motivation to work on his body along with his game. He's such a physically gifted athlete that I don't blame him but the great players busted their asses in every aspect of the game. I think Williams is more of a power forward and Beasley is more of a small forward, so T'wolves don't have much of a need for Williams. Side note seeing them in person Williams is about a half inch to an inch taller than beasley but appears more filled out.

I agree. And people are not gonna like this, but i really think Derrick Williams is Overrated.
I just dont see him being as good a pro as people make him to be. I think he will be a solid starter but i dont see him being an all-star in his career. I dont see the "it" factor in him. And being a tweener doesn't help either.

There doesn't look to be many future all-stars in this draft so taking someone who is going to be a solid starter might be smarter than trying to reach on potenial. With Williams you at least know what you're getting, and you can't say that about most of the players in this draft.

Beasley has more potential but will probably not reach it. Derrick Williams is a safer bet because it would appear his 3 point shooting will carry over and he also seem more willing to bang. Beasley looks smooth scoring but other times he looks like he doesnt have a clue. I think if Beasley finally gets it, he will be better but over the years we have said that about many players and they tend to not get it so Williams gets the edge but i would still like for Minny to trade down for a legit 2 guard or big man prospect because Williams will not be that much of an upgrade

To the guy who said Beasley was very clutch for the worst tem in the NBA SMH. Also who cares if he is more talented, as talented, or less talented then Beasley, the draft is what matters and in this draft is anyone as talented as Williams. Perhaps Kanter would be a better selection then Williams but other then that there is nobody that will be available to Minnesota wth the same level of talent. If Minnesota can draft Williams and trade Love for Gasol I see no reason to not call that team a playoff contender in the West. Although that trade is a pipedream that is an example of the perks provided when stockpiling talent.

Finally a whole forum dedicated to this... !!! I don't see the problem with having them on the same team... so you have a loaded front court... too many good players to have on the court at the same time... what an awesome problem to have...!!!...

I agree with everyone on this page practically.. Beasley is a player who can takeover games... williams though he'll be solid at the least.. will be a great 2nd or 3rd scorer on any team for years to come.. I don't see him being a featured scorer, atleast not right now.

Derrick Williams three point shooting is the most overrated part of his game. Yes, he shot 58% from there but only took 74 this year and 16 in '09-'10. I'm an Arizona fan and watched almost every game and his shot takes a while to get off and he looks like a big man shooting 3's ala Kevin Love or Zach Randolph. I could be wrong but I really don't see him playing the 3 at the next level.

I agree he is slept on. He got hurt last year. Before he got hurt Beasley was giving it to everyone he faced last year, EVERYONE. No he is not a monster on the glass and he needs to pick it up on D, but I would rather have him over Derrick Williams. He is way more explosive and even more athletic IMO. A more unstopable player when he is on fire. Derrick is not exactly a Mr. do it all facets of the game either. He is a scorer mainly and not as good a scorer as B Easy.

And no reason why they can't all be on the same court at once. Look at the NBA finals, was there a center playing in those games that either Williams or Love couldn't guard? There are lots of teams that the Wolves could go "small" against and play Love at center without getting burned.

Beasely averaged nearly 8 rebs a game on a per 36 minute basis on Miami, but he wasn't getting that many minutes. He rebounds fine for a small forward and with Love on the court Minnesota has rebounding covered.

Love is nearly untradeable, so I have no idea why anyone is bringing him up as trade bait. The guy is not even 23 years old and he is leading the league in rebounds by a high margin (and would have done so the prior two years as well if he had gotten the minutes) and scoring 20 points a game. Untradeable.

They bring up the Love trades becuase they think he's going to leave the minute he gets the opprotunity so might as well strike while the iron is hot. But I think if they put a team around him and gave him a reason to stay he would and it would be premature to trade him now. I think they all can coexist as well if they can put it together defensively

Someone said Derrick Williams was safer because he has a better feel for the game and a better shot selection. Well Carmelo Anthony who may be the best offensive player in the game is still criticized for his shot selection. And if you looked at the finals so was the "best player on the planet" Lebron James. A lot of people still think Beasley can reach the Carmelo range because of his enormous potential(which is still higher than Derrick Williams and he's only 2 years older) and some people see him as the next Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson. No matter which one of those players Michael Beasley is more like, I'd still take them over David West who most people compare Derrick Williams to. Derrick Williams is not a small forward, no matter how much he tries to beat it into his head and ours, he is not a small forward, So I'd take beasley's talent over Derrick Williams better shot selection and basketball IQ anyday. Beasley who averaged 12 rebounds in college, now averages 6 at small forward. What do you think derrick Williams is going to average at small forward when he only averaged 8 in college? We've been hearing it a lot because Kenneth Faried is in the draft "Rebounding is one of the best traits that transfers from College to the Pros"

So not only is Beasley a better scorer, he's a better rebounder, and he's just as athletic. Case Closed, if the Timberwolves trade Beasley who will only get better with Rick Rubio. It will only be another bad decision for a horrid franchise.

ill go with williams. Beasley is not a team player and williams is. He doesnt freeze the ball and over dribble. Also he is a finisher who can better play off teammates. Beasley needs the ball and time to operate and he only gets that time now cause he is on a terrible team. Put them both on playoff teams and dwill will fit in better.

theres aint no way in hell im taking williams overrated abilities over something we already know and what we know is that beasley is way more talented a scorer and rebounder being unstoppable when ge catches fire cuz he is a lot like melo to were he can dominate you inside and out and he is the better ball handler,playmaker and shooter williams is and probably will ever be and hes just as athletic, people talk about his bad shot selection name 5 elite scorers that had a good shot selection early on in there nba careers melo lebron and durant still has suspect shot selections, also his basketball iq imo is very high i think he just picked up bad habits on bad teams and that happens, and sown the line the twolves would be better having a guy who i think could avg close to 28ppg then i guy who i think will be like jj hickson a tweener athlete that does things well but will never live up to his potential, scoeres like beasly are a dime a dozen

They're being compared a good bit more than is appropriate. Williams almost has to be a 4 in the NBA, while Beasley sure seems to be a 3. Beasley will be better ISO, but Williams seems better pick and roll. They aren't the same player, despite the similarities. Given cost and fit, I'd take Beasley, but it isn't a landslide and, depending what they get back for either, going either way is defensible.

I think Williams can legitimately play pf, unlike Beasley, as Williams is longer and has a better work ethic.

Beasley, to be quite frank, wasn't as good as a lot of people are claiming he was last year. Yes, he got flukily hot early in the year, but he never got to the free throw line, he played terrible defense, he made poor decisions on the court, and his shooting numbers collapsed in 2011. He shot between 40.3% and 43.8% from the field in each month from January to March, and those numbers are worse than they look because he only shoots 3 free throws a game. Beasley can score very inefficiently, but I really don't see what else he does. I have a hard time seeing him play on a winning team in the future, especially now that he has gained the confidence to try and score 20 per game.

In Carmelo's third season in the NBA, he shot 48% from the field and attempted tons of free throws. He had already shown his elite scoring ability (and he really isn't a superstar player).

LeBron in his third season also shot 48% and attempted even more free throws than Carmelo (over 10 per game).

Durant's gross shooting numbers were almost the same as LeBron, he shot free throws at a similar rate and shot 48% from the field.

The truth is, there is little precedence for inefficient black holes with the ball suddenly becoming top 5 scorers. It is possible, but in Beasley's case I think it is unlikely. He is most similar statistically to Kobe, but Kobe is an extreme case, and even Kobe was better younger. One of Williams' biggest potential advantages over Beasley is that if he is a 4 (who hopefully will be played there) who could be a dangerous pick and pop threat and may not see his post game disappear in the NBA the way Beasley's did.

If we are going to look at college stats, Beasley is easily going to win, every time. The dude was a beast at K-state. You could make an argument that he was every bit as good as Durant when he played in the Big 12. But he hasn't really lived up to his promise in the NBA. He doesnt rebound like he used to, and he hasn't really found a true position. Its kind of a wierd comparison, since they are 2 very different players. Beasley is definitely the more talented one, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Derrick Williams really maximise his potential. Completely different players

Beasley is offensively gifted, but I can't stand his game. He's never seen a shot he doesn't like and can be a ball stopper. That's why he didn't fit in on Miami. He can't do anything other than score. He doesn't rebound. Doesn't defend. Lacks focus and attention to detail. He doesn't do any of the little things well.

Beasley has a number one option mentality, but isn't a number one option caliber player. That's a problem.

However, I won't say I'll take Williams over him until I see Williams play an NBA game.

another thing about beasleys offense, is that he doesnt get a lot of easy baskets where he plays off the ball. You rarely see him ahead on the break, fly in for an offensive rebound out of nowhere, make strong backcuts giving a teammate an easy passing lane, or just getting tough garbage points around the rim. Its almost all give him the ball and let him work one on one while the other guys stand around cause hes not a good passer either. And i was saying all these things since his rookie year so it really doesnt have anythiong to do with williams.

I do think beasley played much better last year then i had been previously giving hium credit for so showing some more hustle so we'll see if he can take it up a notch as he gets older.